TWI471929B - Plasma etching equipment and method of etching a wafer - Google Patents

Description

Plasma etching apparatus and method of etching wafer

The present invention relates to a plasma etching apparatus and a method of etching a wafer, and more particularly to a plasma etching apparatus and an etching of a wafer to remove thin layers and particles from a beveled area of the wafer The method.

The device or circuit pattern is typically not formed in the edge regions of the wafer because the edge regions are for transporting the wafer and the edge regions are referred to as bevel regions. However, in a fabrication process for forming semiconductor devices and circuit patterns on a wafer, undesired layers or particles can be deposited on the bevel regions of the wafer. If the undesired layers or particles are not removed from the bevel area of the wafer, the manufacturing process for forming the semiconductor device and the circuit pattern is continued, which may cause problems: for example, the wafer may be deformed, Such undesired layers or particles can cause defects in manufacturing yields due to defects in subsequent processes, or can result in difficulty in aligning wafers.

To do so, it is necessary to remove undesired layers or particles through a certain post-treatment. In a more recent approach, plasma is selectively supplied to the edge regions of the wafer to remove undesired layers or particles on the edge regions of the wafer.

This conventional wafer bevel region plasma etching process is carried out using, for example, a gas containing chlorine (Cl). However, chlorine as a corrosive gas remains on the entire surface of the wafer. When chlorine is exposed to the atmosphere, the chlorine reacts with the moisture contained in the air and corrodes the layers formed on the wafer, especially the metal layer. Therefore, after the wafer bevel region etching process is completed, a post-etching process should be performed to remove the chlorine remaining on the wafer. A wafer edge etch chamber is formed in the same module as a post etch process chamber to avoid exposing the wafer to the atmosphere. In addition, after the wafer etch process is completed, the temperature of the wafer edge etch chamber is lowered and the wafer is moved into the post etch processing chamber. Then, the temperature of the processing chamber is etched after raising to perform a post-etching process. These procedures allow the module to be constructed with one that can be individually heated to etch the processing chamber, thereby wasting the space of the module and increasing manufacturing costs.

Moreover, conventional wafer bevel plasma etching processes have a low etch rate due to low plasma density, which in turn requires a long processing time due to low etch rate and does not etch certain layers in the bevel region. In addition, it is difficult to remove the metal layer in the bevel area of the wafer due to the lower processing temperature. In particular, the copper layer cannot be easily etched away, and even if the copper layer is etched away, the copper ions cannot be completely removed. The copper ions remaining on the bevel area of the wafer may react with the anti-diffusion layer of the underlying layer or diffuse into a central portion of the wafer and penetrate into, for example, an interlayer insulating layer, thereby Reduce the reliability of the device.

The present invention provides a plasma etching apparatus and a method of etching a wafer, which can implement a wafer bevel area etching process and a subsequent etching process in a same etching apparatus using an existing plasma generating apparatus or a remote plasma generating system. Process the process.

The present invention also provides a plasma etching apparatus and a method of etching a wafer capable of generating a high density plasma, concentrating the plasma on the bevel area, and heating the interior of a chamber including a wafer holder. It is easy to remove the metal layer in the bevel area of the wafer.

The present invention also provides a plasma etching apparatus and a method of etching a wafer that removes a predetermined thickness of each of the layers remaining on the bevel area until the wafer is exposed, thereby completely removing copper ions.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a plasma etching apparatus includes: a chamber having a plasma reaction compartment configured to be closed; a wafer holder disposed in the chamber and supporting a wafer And vertically moving the wafer to load or load the wafer into the chamber; an etching gas supply unit for supplying an etching gas into the chamber to etch a certain area of the wafer; a plasma generating unit for generating a plasma of the etching gas to the chamber; and a heating unit disposed on a wall of the chamber for heating the plasma reaction compartment and one of the wafers Or heating the temperature of the plasma reaction compartment to the wafer to activate a plasma reaction.

The heating unit can be disposed on a given wall or one side of the reaction compartment.

The plasma etching apparatus may further include a wafer holder heating unit disposed in the wafer holder to heat the wafer holder.

The heating unit may include a heating wire and a power supply for supplying power to the heating wire.

The temperature at which the plasma reaction is activated can range from room temperature to about 350 °C.

The region of the wafer may include a beveled region on which a thin layer comprising a metal layer is formed.

The wafer can be heated by the heating unit prior to producing the plasma.

The metal layer can be one of a copper layer, an aluminum layer, and a tungsten layer.

If the metal layer is a copper layer, the wafer can be heated to a temperature ranging from about 250 ° C to about 350 ° C. If the metal layer is the aluminum layer, the wafer can be heated to about 40 From °C to a temperature range of about 80 ° C, and if the metal layer is the tungsten layer, the wafer can be heated to a temperature ranging from about 30 ° C to about 50 ° C.

The plasma etching apparatus may further include a remote plasma generating unit for exciting a post-treatment gas to a plasma state and supplying the plasma state to the processing chamber to the chamber.

The remote plasma generating unit may include: a post-processing gas tank for storing the post-processing gas; a plasma generator for exciting the post-processing gas to the plasma state; and a power supply, The plasma generator for supplying a high frequency power source to the remote plasma generating unit.

The remote plasma generating unit may further comprise an evaporator for evaporating a liquid to process the material.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for etching a wafer is provided, the method comprising: placing a wafer on a wafer holder in a chamber; supplying an etching gas into the chamber; A predetermined area of the wafer is etched by the generation of plasma in the chamber, wherein the wafer is heated prior to generating the plasma.

The predetermined area of the wafer may include a beveled area.

The wafer can be heated to a temperature ranging from room temperature to about 350 °C.

The wafer can be heated by performing one of a process of heating the wafer holder, a process of heating the interior of the chamber, or simultaneously performing the two processes.

A metal layer and an insulating layer may be stacked on the slope area.

The method may further include: removing the metal layer from the bevel region; and removing a portion of the insulating layer from the bevel region by using a plasma, through a partial etching process, to remove metal ions remaining in the bevel region Or particles.

The insulating layer can be removed by using a plasma generated by CF ₄ , SF ₆ , O ₂ , and He gas.

The metal layer can be one of a copper layer, an aluminum layer, and a tungsten layer.

The copper layer can be etched by using Cl ₂ and BCl ₃ as a reactive gas and Ar as an inert gas, using Cl ₂ , BCl ₃ , and O ₂ as a reactive gas and etching the aluminum layer using Ar as an inert gas, and The tungsten layer is etched using SF ₆ or NF ₃ as a reactive gas and using Ar as an inert gas.

After etching the predetermined region of the wafer, the method may further include: removing the residue from the entire top surface of the wafer after the plasma state is utilized in the chamber; and removing the residue After the residue, a residual gas is discharged.

The process gas can be processed after the plasma state is generated using a remote plasma process.

The post-treatment gas can be prepared by mixing an inert gas with one of H ₂ O, H ₂ O ₂ , NH ₃ or a mixed gas of H ₂ and N ₂ .

In accordance with the present invention, a beveled region etch can be performed by utilizing a plasma generating device already included in the plasma etching apparatus for etching the wafer bevel region with plasma, or by utilizing a remote plasma generating system. After the process, a process for removing chlorine gas is performed in the same etching apparatus for the bevel area etching process, thereby shortening the processing time. In addition, there is no need to include a post-processing chamber in one module, thereby saving space in the module and reducing manufacturing costs.

Moreover, by producing a high-density plasma and concentrating a uniform high-density plasma on the bevel area, the bevel area can be more efficiently etched and the metal ions remaining on the bevel area can be completely removed, thereby preventing the device from being reliable. Reduced sex.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the invention may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, the embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the scope of the invention is fully disclosed.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a plasma etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the plasma etching apparatus includes a chamber 100, a shield member 200, a mask member 300, a plasma generator 400, and a wafer holder 500. The shield member 200 divides the chamber 100 into a reaction compartment (A) and a compartment (D). The mask member 300 is disposed in the reaction compartment (A) of the shield member 200. The plasma generator 400 is disposed in the partition compartment (D) of the shield member 200. The wafer holder 500 is disposed under the mask member 300. A central region of a wafer 10 is shielded by the mask member 300 and the wafer holder 500, and one of the bevel regions of the wafer 10 is exposed. The plasma etching apparatus further includes a Faraday shield 600 between the mask member 300 and the plasma generator 400, and an etching gas supply unit 700 for supplying in a bevel region etching process. Reaction gas.

The chamber 100 includes a lower chamber 110 and an upper chamber 122, wherein the lower chamber 110 has a lower heating unit 112 and the upper chamber 120 has an upper heating unit 122.

The lower chamber 110 includes a lower body 111, a lower heating unit 112, and a through opening 113. The lower body 111 has a hollow rectangular box shape. The lower heating unit 112 is disposed in at least one sidewall of the lower body 111. The through opening 113 is formed through one of the top walls of the lower body 111. That is, the lower body 111 is shaped like a rectangular pillar having a rectangular top surface and a bottom surface and four side walls. However, the lower body 111 is not limited to a rectangular pillar shape. Alternatively, the lower body 111 may be shaped like a cylinder or a polyhedron, and each surface of the lower body 111 may have a polygonal shape. The wafer holder 500 for supporting the wafer 10 is vertically moved in an inner space of the lower body 111. A gate valve 130 is disposed on one side of the lower body 111 for loading and unloading the wafer 10. A discharge member 140 is disposed on the other side of the lower body 111 for discharging contaminants in the chamber 100. The gate valve 130 is located on one side wall of the lower body 111. The lower chamber 110 can be connected to another chamber via a gate valve 130 (not shown). The lower heating unit 112 is disposed at a portion of the side wall of the lower body 111 for heating the chamber 100. The lower heating unit 112 is disposed in a sidewall of the lower body 111. Therefore, the lower heating unit 112 can be used to heat the lower body 111, and since the lower heating unit 112 can control the internal temperature, the internal temperature of the lower body 111 can be stably maintained without a sudden change in the internal temperature due to external environmental conditions. An electric heater can be used as the lower heating unit 112. The electric heater includes a plurality of heating wires 112a and a power supply 112b, wherein the plurality of heating wires 112a are disposed along an inner lateral surface of the lower body 111 or through a sidewall of the lower body 111, and the power supply 112b is used Power is supplied to the plurality of heating wires 112a. However, the lower heating unit 112 is not limited to the electric heater. For example, a lamp heater can also be used as the lower heating unit 112. Since the lower heating unit 112 is disposed on or through the sidewall of the lower body 111, the bevel region of the wafer 10 can be collectively heated from the time of loading the wafer 10. Thereby, the bevel area of the wafer 10 can be etched more efficiently. In particular, since the reactivity between the metal layer and the reaction gas is enhanced when the bevel region of the wafer 10 is heated, the undesired metal layer formed on the slope region of the wafer 10 can be easily removed. In addition, by-products of the etching reaction are not easily deposited again on the bevel area of the wafer 10, and thus by-products can be easily discharged. The lower heating unit 112 may be disposed on the top wall and/or the bottom wall of the lower body 111. Preferably, the through opening 113 formed through the top wall of the lower body 111 has a diameter larger than the diameter of the wafer 10 to allow the wafer holder 500 to move upward through the through opening 113 to the outside of the lower body 111.

The upper chamber 120 includes an upper body 121, an upper heating unit 122, and a concave unit 123. The upper body 121 has a rectangular box shape, and the upper heating unit 122 is disposed on the upper body 121. The concave unit 123 is formed in the upper body 121. The upper body 121 can also have other shapes. The upper body 121 may have a shape similar to the body 111 below the lower chamber 110. The upper body 121 may be shaped to cover the through opening 113 of the lower body 111. That is, the bottom surface of the upper body 121 is in close contact with the top surface of the lower body 111. The concave unit 123 formed in the upper body 121 communicates with the through opening 113 of the lower body 111. To this end, the recessed unit 123 has an opening in the bottom wall of the upper body 121 and is formed to be recessed toward the top wall of one of the upper bodies 121. One of the grooves 123 may have a diameter larger than the diameter of the through opening 113. In the present embodiment, the wafer 10 can be transferred by the wafer holder 500, so that the wafer 10 is disposed in the concave unit 123. Thus, by collectively generating plasma into the recessed unit 123, undesired layers or particles can be removed from the beveled area of the wafer 10. The upper heating unit 122 is disposed at a portion of the circumference of the concave unit 123. For example, the upper heating unit 122 is disposed in a portion of one of the top walls of the upper body 121. Similar to the heating unit 112 below the lower body 111, the upper heating unit 122 is used to heat the wafer 10 to promote the plasma reaction in the bevel region of the wafer 10. Preferably, the heating temperature of the lower heating unit 112 and the upper heating unit 122 is about 80 °C. According to another embodiment, the heating temperature may be between about 30 °C and about 350 °C. In the drawing, a plurality of heating wires are uniformly disposed on the top wall of the upper body 121 to form an upper heating unit 122. Alternatively, the heater wires may be disposed primarily in a region corresponding to a bevel region of the wafer. The upper heating unit 122 can be powered from a power supply (not shown) different from the power supply of the lower heating unit 112. Thereby, the upper and lower regions of the chamber 100 can be maintained at different temperatures. Alternatively, the upper heating unit 122 and the lower heating unit 112 can be powered from the same power supply.

Although not shown in the drawings, the chamber 100 further includes a door unit (not shown) as an opening/closing device between the upper body 120 and the lower portion 110 of the upper chamber 110. Maintenance of the chamber 100 can be more easily performed by separately forming the upper and lower bodies of the chamber 100 and assembling the upper body to form the chamber 100.

The shield member 200 has an annular shape extending from the top wall of the lower chamber 110 through the interior of the recessed unit 123 to the top wall of the upper chamber 120. The shield member 200 is disposed along the periphery of the through opening 113, thereby dividing the chamber 100 including the upper chamber 110 and the lower chamber 120 into a compartment (D) and a reaction compartment (A). In the reaction compartment (A), a wafer 10 is disposed and a plasma is generated to etch the beveled area of the wafer 10. The compartment (D) houses a portion of the plasma generator 400. The reaction compartment (A) and the compartment (D) can be isolated from each other by the shield member 200. For example, the compartment (D) can be kept at atmospheric pressure, while the reaction compartment (A) can form a vacuum.

The reaction compartment (A) includes a space formed by the top wall of the upper chamber 120 and the shield member 200, and an inner space of the lower chamber 110. The compartment (D) includes a space surrounded by the shield member 200, the top and side walls of the upper chamber 120, and the top wall of the lower chamber 110. The shield member 200 may be formed of a material capable of transmitting high frequency energy to generate plasma therein. For example, the shield member 200 may be formed of an insulating material, such as alumina (Al ₂ O ₃ ). In the present embodiment, after the wafer 10 is lifted to the inner region of the shield member 200 by using the wafer holder 500, the inner region of the shield member 200 (ie, a space between the shield member 200 and the wafer holder 500) may be utilized. The plasma is generated to etch the beveled area of the wafer 10.

The shield member 200 includes an annular body 210, an extension 220 located at an upper portion of the body 210, and an extension portion 230 located below a lower portion of the body 210. The upper extension 220 is coupled to the top wall of the upper chamber 120 and the lower extension 230 is coupled to the top wall of the lower chamber 110. The body 210 has an annular shape corresponding to the shape of the wafer 10 so that the distance between the shield member 200 and the wafer 10 can be uniform. Therefore, the plasma can be uniformly supplied to the bevel area of the wafer 10. The body 210 can have a circular ring shape.

The lower extension portion 230 is formed at a lower portion of the body 210 and extends outward from the body 210. The upper extension portion 220 is formed on the upper portion of the body 210 and extends inward from the body 210. Alternatively, the lower extension 230 can extend inwardly from the lower portion of the body 210, and the upper extension 220 can extend outwardly from the upper portion of the body 210. The lower extension portion 230 and the upper extension portion 220 are in close contact with the lower chamber 110 and the upper chamber 120, respectively, so that the reaction compartment (A) and the separation compartment (D) can be maintained at different pressures. That is, the upper extension portion 220 and the lower extension portion 230 serve as a sealing member for hermetically sealing the reaction compartment (A).

The shield member 200 may be fixed to the lower chamber 110 by the lower extension 230 or to the upper chamber 120 by the upper extension 220. A sealing member (not shown) such as an O-ring may be additionally provided between the shield member 200 and the lower chamber 110 and between the shield member 200 and the upper chamber 120 to reliably seal the reaction compartment (A). In the drawings, the shield member 200 is disposed on the flat surfaces of the lower chamber 110 and the upper chamber 120. However, the shield member 200 may also be disposed on the recessed surfaces of the lower chamber 110 and the upper chamber 120. In this case, the reaction compartment (A) provides a more reliable seal. In the present embodiment, the shield member 200, the lower chamber 110, and the upper chamber 120 are described as separate components. However, in another embodiment, the shield member 100, the lower chamber 110, and the upper chamber 120 may be formed in one piece.

The mask member 300 serves to prevent plasma from being generated in the non-etched region (ie, the central region) of the wafer 10 disposed on the wafer holder 500 so that the non-etched regions of the wafer 10 are not etched. To this end, the mask member 300 has a shape similar to the wafer 10. For example, the mask member 300 has a circular plate shape. Preferably, the mask member 300 has a size smaller than the size of the wafer 10. In this case, the beveled area of the wafer 10 can be selectively exposed. For example, the beveled area of the wafer 10 exposed outside of the masking component 300 can be from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm wide. Thereby, the wafer bevel area where no layer or semiconductor pattern is formed may be exposed. That is, if the exposed bevel region of the wafer 10 has a width of less than about 0.1 mm, the exposed bevel region of the wafer 10 will be too small to be removed from the bevel region of the wafer 10 by plasma etching. Layer or particle. If the exposed bevel area of the wafer 10 is greater than about 5 mm, a layer or pattern formed in the non-etched region (ie, the central region) of the wafer 10 may be exposed. In another embodiment, depending on the process conditions, the mask component 300 can have a size equal to or greater than the wafer 10. Further, an inert gas may be ejected from an inner region of one of the mask members 300 to prevent the etching gas in the plasma state from penetrating into the central region of the wafer 10 disposed in the mask member 300.

The mask member 300 is disposed in the reaction compartment within the shield member 200. Further, the mask member 300 is disposed on one of the bottom surfaces of the concave unit 123 of the upper chamber 120, that is, one of the bottom surfaces of the top wall of the upper chamber 120. After the mask member 300 is separately formed, the mask member 300 may be attached to the bottom surface of the recess unit 123 by a coupling member. Alternatively, the mask member 300 and the upper chamber 120 may be formed integrally.

An upper electrode 310 may be disposed on an outer portion of the mask member 300. A ground voltage is applied to the upper electrode 310. Alternatively, the upper electrode 310 may be disposed within the mask member 300. The upper electrode 310 may not be formed, but the mask member 300 may be used as an upper electrode. In this case, an insulating layer may be formed on a predetermined portion of the mask member 300. The upper electrode 310 is used to achieve a bias voltage coupling to the wafer holder 500 to increase the plasma density and etch rate of the bevel region of the wafer 10.

The plasma generator 400 includes an antenna component 410 and a plasma power supply 420. The antenna member 410 is disposed in a partition compartment (D) surrounded by the shield member 200, the upper chamber 120, and the lower chamber 110. The antenna component 410 includes at least one coil wound around the shield member 200 N times. In addition, the coils can be wound to overlap, stack or cross vertically and/or horizontally. When the wafer 10 is spaced apart from the antenna member 410 by about 2 cm to about 10 cm, plasma can be efficiently generated in the bevel region of the wafer 10. If the wafer 10 is spaced less than about 2 cm from the antenna component 410, plasma may be applied to the central region of the wafer 10, which may adversely etch the central region of the wafer 10. If the wafer 10 is spaced apart from the antenna member 410 by more than about 10 cm, it will be difficult to obtain a sufficient plasma density in the bevel region of the wafer 10.

The plasma power supply 420 supplies a power source, such as a radio frequency (RF) power source, to the antenna component 410. For example, the plasma power supply 420 can supply a high frequency power source to the antenna component 410. The plasma power supply 420 can be disposed outside of the chamber 100. That is, only the antenna member 410 of the plasma generator 400 may be disposed in the compartment (D) of the chamber 100, and other components of the plasma generator 400 may be disposed outside the chamber 100. In the present embodiment, since the antenna member 410 is disposed in the partition compartment (D) in close proximity to the reaction compartment (A), the plasma can be collectively generated in the reaction compartment (A) in close proximity to the antenna component 410. In the area. That is, the plasma may be generated in a ring shape in the reaction compartment (A) in the annular shield member 200. Antenna component 410 can be integral with chamber 100 to simplify the plasma etching apparatus and reduce the size of the plasma etching apparatus. The power source supplied by the plasma power supply 420 to the antenna component 410 can range from about 100 watts to about 3.0 kilowatts. The frequency of the power supplied by the plasma power supply 420 to the antenna component 410 can range from about 2 megahertz to about 13.56 megahertz.

When power is supplied to the antenna member 410, plasma is generated in the reaction compartment (A) in the shield member 200. That is, the power supplied to the antenna member 410 generates high-density plasma in the shield member 200. Since the mask member 300 is disposed in the shield member 200, the generation of plasma is concentrated in a region between the shield member 200 and the mask member 300 and a region between the shield member 200 and the raised wafer holder 500.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the antenna member 410 is disposed to surround the wafer 10 on the wafer holder 500 when the wafer holder 500 is raised, and the ground electrodes (ie, the upper electrode 310 and the lower electrode 510) are disposed on The upper side and the lower side of the antenna member 410. Therefore, the high-density plasma can be uniformly generated and concentrated in the bevel area of the wafer 10, thereby more effectively etching the bevel area of the wafer 10.

The plasma generator 400 includes a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) generator, a hybrid plasma generator, an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma generator, or a surface. Surface wave plasma (SWP) generator.

A connection hole (not shown) is formed at the upper chamber 120 to connect the plasma power supply 420 and the antenna member 410. A power cord can be connected from the plasma power supply 420 through the connection hole to the antenna component 410 disposed in the reaction compartment in the upper chamber 120. An impedance matching unit (not shown) may be further disposed between the plasma power supply 420 and the antenna member 410. A cooling unit (not shown) may be disposed on one side of the antenna member 410 to prevent the heating units 112 and 122 disposed in the chamber 100 from damaging the antenna member 410.

The Faraday shield 600 is disposed on an outer surface of the shield member 200 for concentrating the plasma generated in the shield member 200 in the bevel region of the wafer 10. The Faraday shield 600 may be disposed between the shield member 200 and the antenna member 410. The Faraday shield 600 prevents the plasma from being concentrated on the coil of the antenna member 410 due to the Faraday effect, so that the plasma can be uniformly formed in the chamber 100. In addition, the Faraday shield 600 can prevent the etching by-products and the polymer from being mainly deposited on the inner surface of the shield member 200 adjacent to the antenna member 410 due to the sputtering phenomenon, so that the etching by-products and the polymer can be uniformly deposited in the chamber. 100, and in turn reduces the rate of accumulation of by-products and deposited layers of the polymer. Thereby, the life of the plasma etching equipment can be prolonged, and the generation of particles caused by the accumulation of pollutants on the inner surface of the chamber can be reduced.

The Faraday shield 600 can include an annular body and a plurality of vertical slits (not shown) formed in the body. The uniformity of the plasma in the shield member 200 can be controlled by adjusting the width and spacing of the slits. The Faraday shield 600 is connected to one of the grounding points of the plasma etching apparatus to minimize the occurrence of undesired voltage between the plasma and the coil of the antenna component 410 when plasma is generated within the shield member 200, and The plasma is evenly distributed throughout the entire interior of the shield member 200.

An insulating member (not shown) may be disposed between the Faraday shield 600 and the antenna member 410. The Faraday shield 600 can be spaced apart from the coil of the antenna member 410 by a predetermined distance and disposed outside of the shield member 200 for generating plasma.

The wafer holder 500 is disposed in the reaction compartment (A) of the chamber 100 for supporting the wafer 10. The wafer holder 500 is used to move the wafer 10 loaded in the lower chamber 110 to the concave unit 123 provided with the mask member 300 and the chamber 120 above the shielding member 200, or to place the wafer 10 from the upper chamber 120. The concave unit 123 moves downward to the lower chamber 100.

The wafer holder 500 includes: a wafer holder chuck 520 for supporting the wafer 10; a driving unit 540 for vertically moving the wafer holder chuck 520; and a bias power supply 550 for supplying The power is biased to the wafer holder chuck 520. Wafer holder 500 further includes a lift pin (not shown), and wafer holder chuck 520 includes a consistent perforation to allow the lift pin to move vertically therein.

The wafer holder chuck 520 has a plate shape corresponding to the shape of the wafer 10 and has a size smaller than one of the wafers 10. Thus, when the wafer 10 is placed on the wafer carrier chuck 520, one of the back bevel regions of the wafer 10 can be exposed to the plasma. A wafer heating unit 530 is disposed in the wafer holder chuck 520 for heating the wafer 10. The wafer heating unit 530 includes a heating wire 531 disposed in the wafer holder chuck 520, and a power supply 532 for supplying power to the heating wire 531. The heater wires of the wafer heating unit 530 may be densely disposed in an edge region of the wafer holder chuck 520. In this case, the beveled area of the wafer 10 placed on the wafer holder chuck 520 can be effectively heated, thereby enhancing the reactivity of the beveled area 10 of the wafer 10 with the plasma. The heating temperature of the wafer heating unit 530 can be between about 150 ° C and about 550 ° C. In the present embodiment, the wafer heating unit 530 can heat the wafer holder chuck 520 to about 350 °C.

The power supplied by the bias power supply 550 to the wafer carrier chuck 520 can range from about 10 watts to about 1000 watts. The frequency of the power supplied by the bias power supply 550 to the wafer carrier chuck 520 can range from about 2 megahertz to about 13.56 megahertz. The bias power supply 550 supplies a bias supply to the wafer carrier chuck 520 to provide a bias supply to the wafer 10 placed on the wafer carrier chuck 520. The bias power source moves the plasma to a beveled area of the wafer 10 that is exposed to the mask member 300 and the wafer holder chuck 520.

The lower electrode 510 may be disposed at one end of the wafer holder chuck 520. The lower electrode 510 is grounded. The lower electrode 510 is used to achieve coupling of a bias power supply to the wafer holder 500 to increase the plasma density and etch rate of the bevel region of the wafer 10.

Since the bias power is supplied to the wafer holder chuck 520, an insulating layer 511 is disposed between the wafer holder chuck 520 and the lower electrode 510. The insulating layer 511 can be disposed around the wafer holder chuck 520. In this case, the size of the wafer holder 500 depends on the size of the wafer holder chuck 520 and the insulating layer 511. Therefore, when the wafer 10 is placed on the wafer holder 500, the wafer 10 may protrude from the edge of one of the insulating layers 511 by about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm. However, when the insulating layer 511 is disposed only between the wafer holder chuck 520 and the lower electrode 510, that is, when the insulating layer 511 is not in contact with the wafer 10, the wafer 10 placed on the wafer holder 500 may be self-made. One of the edges of the wafer holder chuck 520 protrudes from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm. In another embodiment, the lower electrode 510 may not be formed, and thus the insulating layer 511 may be omitted.

The driving unit 540 includes a driving shaft 541 and a driving member 542. The drive shaft 541 extends into the chamber 100 for vertically moving the wafer holder chuck 520. The drive member 542 is used to actuate the drive shaft 541.

The etching gas supply unit 700 supplies the etching gas to a plasma generating region, that is, a region between the shield member 200, the mask member 300, and the wafer holder 500. The etching gas supply unit 700 includes: a gas injector 710 for injecting process gas into the reaction compartment (A) of the chamber 100; a gas conduit 720 for supplying process gas to the injector 710; A gas tank 730 for supplying process gas to the gas line 720; and a valve 740 for allowing and shutting off the supply of the process gas to the chamber 100. The ejector 710 can include a plurality of nozzles disposed in the upper chamber 120 about the shroud component 300. Thereby, the process gas can be uniformly supplied to the chamber 100 around the mask member 300. As described above, since the lower heating unit 112 and the upper heating unit 122 are disposed in the chamber 100, the process gas can be heated by the lower heating unit 112 and the upper heating unit 122 before the process gas is supplied to the chamber 100.

In another embodiment, the etching gas supply unit 700 may be connected to the plasma generating region of the chamber 100 through the shield member 200. That is, the nozzle of the ejector 710 may be uniformly formed in the shield member 200, and the gas conduit 720 may be connected to the nozzle through the upper chamber 120 to supply the process gas to the plasma generation region through the shield member 200.

A method of etching a wafer using the plasma etching apparatus described above will now be described with reference to FIG. 2 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In step S110, the gate valve 130 disposed on the sidewall of the chamber 100 is opened, and the wafer 10 is introduced into the chamber 100, that is, in the reaction compartment (A). A metal layer has been formed on the wafer 10 by a prior process for forming a semiconductor device on the wafer 10, and thus the metal layer has been formed on the bevel region of the wafer 10.

In step S120, the introduced wafer 10 is placed on the wafer holder 500. Here, before or during the introduction of the wafer 10, the heating unit 112 and the upper heating unit 122 disposed under the chamber 100 and the wafer holder 500 may be used to heat the chamber 100 to a predetermined temperature. The purpose of the heating is to heat the beveled area of the wafer 10 to increase the etch reactivity of the beveled areas of the wafer 10. The heating temperature of the chamber 100 may vary depending on the material of the chamber 100. In general, the heating temperature may be 100 ° C or less to prevent thermal deformation of the chamber 100. Thereafter, the gate valve 130 is closed and the pressure of the reaction compartment (A) of the chamber 100 is adjusted to a desired level. The pressure of the reaction compartment (A) may be 1 x 10-3 Torr or less. Next, the wafer holder 500 is moved up to the concave unit 123 of the upper chamber 120, adjacent to the mask member 300. Here, the distance between the wafer holder 500 and the mask member 300 disposed in the concave unit 123 is adjusted to be about 0.1 mm to about 10 mm. Within this range, it is possible to prevent plasma from being generated in a region between the mask member 300 and the wafer holder 500. Here, the wafer 10, the wafer holder 500, and the mask member 300 are formed in a circular shape, and the centers of the wafer 10, the wafer holder 500, and the mask member 300 are aligned. Therefore, the beveled area of the wafer 10 can be exposed to the outside of the closely spaced wafer holder 500 and the mask member 300. By reducing the distance between the mask member 300 and the wafer 10, the possibility of generating plasma in one of the regions of the wafer 10 disposed under the mask member 300 can be reduced.

In step S130, an etching gas containing, for example, chlorine (Cl) is supplied from the gas supply unit 700 to the reaction compartment (A), and the etching gas supplied to the reaction compartment (A) is excited to the electricity by the plasma generator 400. The slurry state, thereby producing an etching gas in a plasma state. That is, a high-frequency power source is applied to the antenna member 410 disposed in the partition (D), and a ground power source is applied to the electrode 310 disposed on one side of the mask member 300 and disposed on one side of the wafer holder 500. The lower electrode 510 thereby generates plasma in a region therebetween, i.e., in a region within the shield member 200. Here, for example, a 2 megahertz, 1.5 kW high frequency power source is supplied to the antenna component 410 to generate plasma in the bevel area of the wafer 10. At this point, the process pressure can be maintained in the range of from about 5 mTorr to about 500 mTorr. The etching gas in the plasma state is uniformly sprayed along the circumference of the mask member 300, and the Faraday shield 600 disposed on the inner surface of the shield member 200 can concentrate the process gas in the plasma state to the slope region. At this time, a bias is applied to the upper electrode 310 disposed around the mask member 300 and the lower electrode 510 is disposed around the wafer holder 500 to remove undesired layers and particles on the bevel region of the wafer 10. For example, a 13.56 megahertz, 500 watt bias supply is supplied to the wafer holder 500 to etch away undesired layers and particles on the beveled area of the wafer 10 exposed to the plasma. In the present embodiment, the wafer 10 can be heated by a heating unit disposed on or in the inner surface of the chamber 100 and in the wafer holder 500. Therefore, even when a metal layer is deposited on the bevel region of the wafer 10, the metal layer can be etched away from the bevel region of the wafer 10 by plasma after heating the metal layer. If desired, the wafer 10 can be heated from room temperature to a heating temperature of about 350 ° C prior to the etching process. This heating temperature may vary depending on the material deposited on the bevel area of the wafer 10. For example, when copper (Cu) is deposited on the beveled area of the wafer 10, the wafer 10 can be heated to a temperature of from about 250 °C to about 350 °C. When aluminum (Al) is deposited on the beveled area of the wafer 10, the wafer 10 can be heated to a temperature of from about 40 ° C to about 80 ° C. When tungsten (W) is deposited on the beveled area of the wafer 10, the wafer 10 can be heated to a temperature of from about 30 °C to about 50 °C. The temperature of the heating of the wafer 10 can be kept constant while etching a layer of material from the beveled area of the wafer 10. In the case where the plurality of material layers are sequentially etched from the bevel area of the wafer 10, the wafer 10 can be kept constant over a temperature range corresponding to a layer of the currently etched material, and then the wafer 10 is heated or cooled to Corresponding to a temperature range of one of the next material layers and remaining constant over this temperature range while etching away the next material layer. The process gas contains an inert gas and a reactive gas. The inert gas may be a group 18 element such as argon (Ar) and helium (14), or a gas that does not chemically react with the inner surface of the chamber 100 or the wafer 10, such as nitrogen (N ₂ ). The reaction gas may be an oxygen (O ₂ )-based gas or a Group 17 element-based gas such as a chlorine (Cl)-based gas and a fluorine (F)-based gas. Depending on the material to be removed from the beveled area of the wafer 10, other gases may also be utilized as the reactive gas. Examples of the fluorine (F)-based gas include CF ₄ , CHF, SF ₆ , C ₂ F ₆ , NF ₃ , F ₂ , F ₂ N _{2 ,} and C ₄ F ₈ . Examples of the chlorine (Cl)-based gas include BCl ₃ and Cl ₂ . When copper (Cu) is removed from the bevel area of the wafer 10, Cl ₂ or BCl ₃ may be used as the reaction gas, and argon (Ar) may be used as the inert gas. When aluminum (Al) is removed from the bevel area of the wafer 10, Cl ₂ , BCl ₃ , or O ₂ may be used as the reaction gas, and argon (Ar) may be used as the inert gas. When tungsten (W) is removed from the bevel area of the wafer 10, SF6 or NF ₃ may be used as the reaction gas, and argon (Ar) may be used as the inert gas. When copper (Cu) is removed from the beveled region of wafer 10, the reactive gas is more reactive at temperatures ranging from about 250 °C to about 350 °C. When aluminum (Al) is removed from the bevel area of the wafer 10, the reaction gas is more reactive in a temperature range of from about 40 ° C to about 80 ° C. When tungsten (W) is removed from the beveled region of the wafer 10, the reactive gas is more reactive in a temperature range of from about 30 ° C to about 50 ° C.

In step S140, after the bevel region of the wafer 10 is etched, the plasma generation and the etching gas supply are terminated, and the remaining gas and by-products are discharged from the chamber 100.

In step S150, the wafer holder 500 is moved down to the lower chamber 110. Here, additional gas may be supplied into the chamber 100, and the high frequency power supplied to the antenna member 410 may be slowly reduced to maintain the plasma state until the remaining gas is completely discharged or the wafer holder 500 is moved to the lower side, This reduces defects and reduces the generation of particles. Thereafter, the gate valve 130 is opened and the wafer 10 is carried out of the chamber 100.

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a plasma etching apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the plasma etching apparatus of this embodiment comprises: a chamber 100; a shielding member 200 dividing the chamber 100 into a reaction compartment (A) and a compartment (D); a mask component 300, disposed in the reaction compartment (A) in the shielding member 200; a plasma generator 400 disposed in the partition compartment (D) outside the shielding component 200; a wafer holder 500 disposed on the mask component Below the 300; a Faraday shield 600 disposed between the mask member 300 and the plasma generator 400; and an etching gas supply unit 700 for supplying a reactive gas in a bevel region etching process. The plasma etching apparatus further includes a remote plasma generator 800 for changing the state of a reactive gas to a plasma state and supplying the reactive gas of the plasma state during a post-treatment.

That is, the plasma etching apparatus of this embodiment further includes the remote plasma generator 800 compared to the plasma etching apparatus of FIG. Therefore, in the following description, the distal plasma generator 800 will be primarily explained in detail.

The remote plasma generator 800 is configured to excite a post-treatment gas to a plasma state and supply the plasma state to the front side of a wafer 10. The remote plasma generator 800 includes: a post-treatment gas tank 810 for storing the post-treatment gas; a plasma generator 820 for receiving the post-treatment gas from the post-treatment gas tank 810 and post-processing The gas is excited to a plasma state; a power supply 830 for supplying a high frequency power to the plasma generator 820; a gas supply unit 840 for supplying the plasma via a gas pipe 720 and an injector 710 After the state, the process gas is introduced into the chamber 100; and a valve 850 is used to control the supply of the process gas after the plasma state. The process gas from the plasma generator 820 is then supplied to the chamber 100 via the gas supply unit 840, the gas line 720, and the injector 710. In this post-processing process, one of the wafer holders 500 wafer holder chuck 520 is moved down to the lower side of the chamber 100. Thus, the far end plasma supplied by the remote plasma generator 800 can be injected onto the front side of the wafer 10. Thereby, etching residues, such as chlorine, can be removed from the front side of the wafer 10. The plasma etch apparatus can also replace the remote plasma generator 800 with another remote plasma system that can generate plasma outside of the chamber 100 in a variety of ways, such as a method utilizing microwaves.

After being stored in the post-treatment gas tank 810, the treatment gas contains a mixed gas of H ₂ O, NH ₃ , H ₂ O ₂ , H ₂ , and N ₂ , and H ₂ O and H ₂ O ₂ are applied in a gaseous state. Store. In the case where H ₂ O or H ₂ O _{2 is} used as the after-treatment gas, an evaporation device (not shown) is additionally provided to evaporate H ₂ O or H ₂ O ₂ . Further, an inert gas supply means (not shown) is provided to supply an inert gas such as argon (Ar). The inert gas system is supplied together with the aftertreatment gas and is excited to a plasma state.

4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of etching a wafer using the plasma etching apparatus of FIG. 3 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The wafer etching method of the embodiment further includes: after discharging the etching gas and the reaction by-product in step S140, performing a wafer post-processing operation S250 using the remote plasma, and A reaction by-product discharge operation S260. That is, the wafer etching method of this embodiment includes a wafer introducing operation S210, a wafer heating and lifting operation S220, a bevel region etching operation S230, an etching gas and a reaction byproduct discharging operation S240, and utilizing the remote power. The wafer wafer post-processing operation S250, the reaction by-product discharge operation S260, and a wafer discharge operation S270. In the following description of the embodiment, the wafer post-processing operation S250 using the remote plasma and the reaction by-product discharge operation S260 will be mainly explained.

In step S250, after etching the bevel area of the wafer 10, the etching gas component (for example, chlorine (Cl)) remaining on the front surface of the wafer 10 is removed, and the plasma state is supplied from the remote plasma generator 800. The gas is processed to the front side of the wafer 10. Simultaneously with or prior to the processing of the plasma state after the plasma state, the wafer holder 500 is moved downward to position the wafer 10 on the lower side of the chamber 100. The plasma generator 820 is supplied with a predetermined power by the power supply 830, and the post-process gas is supplied to the plasma generator 820 by the post-treatment gas tank 810 to supply the gas after the plasma state. At this time, for example, a high frequency power source of about 2 megahertz and 1.5 kW is supplied from the power supply 830, and the inside of the chamber 100 is maintained at a pressure of about 5 mTorr to about 500 mTorr. The plasma after the plasma state prepared in this manner is injected into the chamber 100 through the gas supply unit 840, the gas line 720, and the ejector 710. A hydrogen-containing gas, such as H ₂ O, H ₂ O ₂ , NH ₃ , and one of a mixed gas of H ₂ and N ₂ , is mixed with an inert gas, and supplies a hydrogen-containing gas and an inert gas. The mixed gas is used as a post-treatment gas. At this time, a bias power can be applied to an upper electrode 310 and a lower electrode 510 to facilitate the post-processing. The hydrogen contained in the plasma state supplied in this manner is reacted with chlorine (Cl) remaining on the wafer 10 to produce HCl. HCl is in the gas phase under vacuum and high temperature conditions.

In step S260, after the post-processing operation, the plasma generation and after-treatment gas supply of the remote plasma generator 800 is terminated, and the gas remaining in the chamber 100 (i.e., HCl gas) is discharged.

In step S270, a gate valve 130 is opened and the processed wafer 10 is discharged from the chamber 100.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a module including a plasma etching apparatus in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The module includes a plurality of plasma etching equipment capable of performing both etching and post-processing of the bevel area.

Referring to FIG. 5, the module of this embodiment includes a plurality of wafer loaders 910, transfer devices 920a and 920b, a buffer chamber 930, a transfer chamber 940, and a plurality of plasma etching devices 950a disposed on the sidewalls of the transfer chamber 940. , 950b, 950c and 950d. Each of the plasma etching apparatuses 950a, 950b, 950c, and 950d has the same structure as that shown in Fig. 3 and operates in the same manner as described in Fig. 4, thereby performing two processes of bevel area etching and post-processing.

The transfer device 920a is configured to transfer a wafer from the wafer loader 910 to the buffer chamber 930, and the transfer device 920b disposed in the buffer chamber 940 can sequentially transfer the wafer from the buffer chamber 930 to the plasma etching device 950a. , 950b, 950c and 950d. In the plasma etching apparatus 950a, 950b, 950c, and 950d, the bevel area of the wafer is etched using plasma and the residual material on the wafer is removed using the remote plasma.

As described above, the module of this embodiment includes a plurality of plasma etching apparatus so that a post processing chamber is not required - and the conventional module includes both a beveled area etching apparatus and a post processing chamber. Therefore, the module of the present embodiment can advantageously save space and reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, since the bevel area etching process and the post-processing process are sequentially performed in one device, the processing time can be shortened.

6 to 10 are cross-sectional views for explaining a bevel etching method according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the sixth to tenth embodiments, a method of fabricating a copper wire by using a dual damascene process is taken as an example to illustrate a method of fabricating a semiconductor device, and reference numerals 20 and 30 respectively denote a wafer region and a slope region. .

Referring to FIG. 6, a first insulating layer 11, an etch stop layer 12, and a second insulating layer 13 are sequentially formed on a top surface of a wafer 10, and a top surface is formed thereon. Scheduled structure. For example, the etch stop layer 12 can be formed using a tantalum nitride layer. The first insulating layer 11 and the second insulating layer 13 are formed of a material having an etching rate different from that of the etch stop layer 12. For example, the first insulating layer 11 and the second insulating layer 13 are formed of an oxygen-containing material such as TEOS (tetraethyl ortho silicate; tetraethyl orthosilicate). The second insulating layer 13 is etched and the etch stop layer 12 is exposed by a photolithography process using a via hole mask. Thereby, the first insulating layer 11, the etch stop layer 12, and the second insulating layer 13 are deposited on the front surface, the side surface, and the back surface of the slope region 30 and the front surface of the wafer region 20.

Referring to FIG. 7, a predetermined region of the second insulating layer 13 is etched by using a lithography process of a trench mask to form a trench 14 while etching an exposed region of the first insulating layer 11. To form a through hole 15. Thereby, a double damascene pattern including the trench 14 and the via 15 is formed. Here, the first insulating layer 11, the etch stop layer 12, and the second insulating layer 13 remain on the front side, the side surface, and the back surface of the slope area 30.

Referring to Figure 8, an anti-diffusion layer 16 is formed over the entire surface of the wafer 10. The anti-diffusion layer 16 is formed of Ta, TaN, Ti, TiN, W, or WN. For example, the anti-diffusion layer 16 is formed by an electroplating method. The anti-diffusion layer 16 may be thicker at the bottom of the via 15 and the trench 14 than at the lateral sides of the via 15 and the trench 14, and an overhang may exist at the corner of the trench 14 and the via 15 above. In this case, a plasma of nitrogen is generated simultaneously with argon sputtering to etch the trench 14 and the anti-diffusion layer 16 at the bottom of the via 15 and redeposit the anti-diffusion layer on the lateral sides of the trench 14 and the via 15 16. By repeating the deposition of the anti-diffusion layer 16 and argon sputtering, the thickness of the anti-diffusion layer 16 can be uniformly controlled on the lateral sides and the bottom of the trench 14 and the via hole 15. Thereafter, after forming a copper seed layer (not shown) by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD), a copper layer 17 is formed by an electroplating method. . As a result, the anti-diffusion layer 16 and the copper layer 17 are also formed on the slope region 30.

Referring to Fig. 9, the copper layer 17 and the anti-diffusion layer 16 are planarized by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process until the second insulating layer 13 is exposed. Thereby, a copper wire is formed in a predetermined region of one of the wafer regions 20. Here, the anti-diffusion layer 16 and the copper layer 17 may be partially removed from the bevel region 30.

Referring to Fig. 10, the copper layer 17 remaining in the bevel region 30 is removed. The copper layer 17 remaining in the beveled region 30 can be removed using a chemical. Then, the anti-diffusion layer 16 and the second insulating layer 13 in the bevel region 30 are removed by using one of the above-described bevel region etching devices. To remove the anti-diffusion layer 16 and the second insulating layer 13, CF4, SF6, O2, and He gases are introduced into the bevel region etching apparatus, and a predetermined bias power source and pressure are applied for a predetermined processing time. While performing the bevel region etching process, the processing conditions are changed within a safe processing condition that does not deform or damage the wafer region 20 or the wafer depending on the thickness of each layer deposited on the bevel region 30.

Alternatively, the process of removing the copper layer 17 remaining in the bevel region 30 by the chemical is not performed, but the copper layer 17 remaining in the bevel region 30 of the wafer may be sequentially removed by the bevel region etching device. The diffusion layer 16 and the second insulating layer 13. To this end, the apparatus can be etched using a beveled area comprising a heating device disposed in a chamber.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 11, after removing the copper layer 17 remaining in the wafer bevel region 30, the anti-diffusion layer 16, the second insulating layer 13, and the etching termination may be removed by the bevel region etching apparatus. The layer 12 and the first insulating layer 11 are exposed to the wafer 10. To expose the beveled region 30 of the wafer 10 as described above, the process is performed with processing conditions that are locally different from those used to remove the anti-diffusion layer 16 and the second insulating layer 13. For example, the process is performed by supplying CF4, SF6, O2 gas, and then applying a predetermined bias power and pressure to the bevel region etching device for a processing time longer than for removing the anti-diffusion Processing time of layer 16 and second insulating layer 13. In such a case, during the execution of the process, the processing conditions are also changed within the safe processing conditions that do not deform or damage the wafer region 20 or wafer, depending on the thickness of the layers deposited on the bevel region 30.

Figure 12 is a plan view of a wafer taken before a bevel area etching process is performed according to an embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 13 is a plan view of the bevel area etching process according to the embodiment of the present invention. A planar image of the wafer taken after exposing the wafer; and FIG. 14 is a plan view of the wafer intercepted after etching a portion of the bevel region of the wafer in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention. The images of Figures 12 through 14 are taken from the right side of the wafer, and reference numerals 20, 30 and 40 represent the wafer area, the bevel area and the platform, respectively.

In order to compare the state of the wafer before and after the bevel region etching process is performed according to the embodiment of the present invention, the thicknesses formed on the wafer are respectively about 2000. 300 And 1000 One of the TEOS layer, the tantalum nitride layer, and the TEOS layer serves as the first insulating layer 11, the etch stop layer 12, and the second insulating layer 13. Forming a thickness of approximately 100 One of the Ta layers serves as the anti-diffusion layer 16. Next, a copper layer is formed and an edge bead remove (EBR) process is performed therewith. Supplying CF4, SF6, O2, and He gas to the bevel area etching apparatus at a flow rate of about 90 sccm, 90 sccm, 20 sccm, and 180 sccm, respectively, and applying a bias power of about 600 watts and a pressure of 1.5 Torr to the bevel area etching apparatus, One of the above-described beveled area etching apparatuses performs a bevel area etching process for 10 seconds and 20 seconds. That is, under the same processing conditions, the process was performed for 10 seconds to etch away a portion of the wafer bevel region and perform for 20 seconds to expose the bevel region of the wafer.

After performing the bevel region etching process, as shown in FIG. 12, a stacked structure is left in the wafer region 20, and as a result of removing the copper layer by the EBR process, an EBR line 40 appears in the bevel region 30. . Reference numeral 60 denotes a curved lateral side region of the bevel region 30. Here, a residue such as copper ions exists in the slope area 30.

After the bevel region etching process is partially performed on the bevel region 30, as shown in FIG. 13, the second insulating layer 13 is exposed in a region adjacent to the lateral side region 60 of the curved surface, that is, in a region indicated by reference numeral 80. And the anti-diffusion layer 16 is exposed in a region 70 between the wafer region 20 and the exposed region 80 of the second insulating layer 13. In this case, the second insulating layer 13 is also exposed in the lateral side region 60 of the curved surface. By such partial etching, the copper ions remaining on the anti-diffusion layer 16 can be completely removed.

After performing the bevel region etching process to expose the bevel region 30 of the wafer, as shown in FIG. 14, in an area adjacent to the curved lateral region 60 of the bevel region 30, that is, in an area indicated by reference numeral 90 The wafer is exposed and the anti-diffusion layer 16 and the second insulating layer 13 are exposed in regions 70 and 80 between the wafer region 20 and the wafer exposed region 90, respectively. By such a bevel region etching process, the copper ions remaining in the bevel region 30 can be completely removed.

In the above embodiment, a bevel region etching process for forming a copper layer and removing copper ions remaining on the bevel region 30 after performing the EBR process is explained. However, according to this embodiment, in addition to removing copper ions, various layers and particles deposited on the bevel region 30 in the semiconductor fabrication process can also be removed.

In the above embodiment, a plasma etching apparatus including an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source and a heating unit is taken as an example. However, the invention is not limited to this. The invention is applicable to a variety of plasma etching apparatus that utilize plasma to etch a ramped region.

Furthermore, the present invention is applicable to plasma etching apparatus for etching a certain area of a wafer and plasma etching apparatus for etching a bevel area.

[Industrial Applicability]

The invention can be used to etch wafers, such as beveled regions of wafers, in a semiconductor device fabrication process to completely remove layers and particles deposited on the bevel regions of the wafer.

10. . . Wafer

11. . . First insulating layer

12. . . Etch stop layer

13. . . Second insulating layer

14. . . Trench

15. . . Through hole

16. . . Anti-diffusion layer

17. . . Copper layer

20. . . Wafer area

30. . . Wafer bevel area

40. . . Platform/EBR line

60. . . Lateral side of the surface

70. . . region

80. . . region

90. . . Wafer exposed area

100. . . Chamber

110. . . Lower room

111. . . Lower body

112. . . Lower heating unit

112a. . . Multiple heating wire

112b. . . Power Supplier

113. . . Through opening

120. . . Upper room

121. . . Upper body

122. . . Upper/upper heating unit

123. . . Concave unit

130. . . gate

140. . . Discharge component

200. . . Shielding component

210. . . Ring body

220. . . Upper extension

230. . . Lower extension

300. . . Mask component

310. . . Upper electrode

400. . . Plasma generator

410. . . Antenna component

420. . . Plasma power supply

500. . . Wafer holder

510. . . Lower electrode

511. . . Insulation

520. . . Wafer holder chuck

530. . . Wafer heating unit

531. . . Heating wire

532. . . Power Supplier

540. . . Drive unit

541. . . Drive shaft

542. . . Drive member

550. . . Bias power supply

600. . . Faraday shield

700. . . Etching gas supply unit

710. . . Ejector

720. . . Gas pipeline

730. . . Gas tank

740. . . valve

800. . . Remote plasma generator

810. . . Post-treatment gas tank

820. . . Plasma generator

830. . . Power Supplier

840. . . Gas supply unit

850. . . valve

910. . . Wafer loader

920a. . . Conveyor

920b. . . Conveyor

930. . . Buffer chamber

940. . . Transfer room

950a. . . Plasma etching equipment

950b. . . Plasma etching equipment

950c. . . Plasma etching equipment

950d. . . Plasma etching equipment

A. . . Reaction compartment

D. . . Separate compartment

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a plasma etching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a flow chart illustrating a method of etching a wafer using the plasma etching apparatus of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the invention;

3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a plasma etching apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of etching a wafer using the plasma etching apparatus of FIG. 3 according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic view showing a module including a plasma etching apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

6 to 10 are cross-sectional views for explaining a bevel region etching method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a bevel region etching method according to still another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 12 is a plan view of a wafer taken prior to performing a beveled area etching process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 13 is a plan view of a wafer intercepted after performing a bevel area etching process to expose a wafer in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 14 is a plan view of a wafer taken after etching a portion of the bevel area of the wafer in accordance with this embodiment of the present invention.

10. . . Wafer

100. . . Chamber

110. . . Lower room

111. . . Lower body

112. . . Lower heating unit

112a. . . Multiple heating wire

112b. . . Power Supplier

113. . . Through opening

120. . . Upper room

121. . . Upper body

122. . . Upper/upper heating unit

123. . . Concave unit

130. . . gate

140. . . Discharge component

200. . . Shielding component

210. . . Ring body

220. . . Upper extension

230. . . Lower extension

300. . . Mask component

310. . . Upper electrode

400. . . Plasma generator

410. . . Antenna component

420. . . Plasma power supply

500. . . Wafer holder

510. . . Lower electrode

511. . . Insulation

520. . . Wafer holder chuck

530. . . Wafer heating unit

531. . . Heating wire

532. . . Power Supplier

540. . . Drive unit

541. . . Drive shaft

542. . . Drive member

550. . . Bias power supply

600. . . Faraday shield

700. . . Etching gas supply unit

710. . . Ejector

720. . . Gas pipeline

730. . . Gas tank

A. . . Reaction compartment

D. . . Separate compartment

Claims (23)

A plasma etching apparatus comprising: a chamber having a plasma reaction compartment configured to be closed; a shielding member for dividing an interior of the chamber into a reaction compartment and a compartment; a masking member disposed in the reaction compartment in the shielding component for exposing a beveled area of a wafer and shielding a central region of the wafer; a wafer holder disposed in the chamber and configured to Supporting the central region of the wafer such that the bevel region of the wafer is exposed and used to vertically move the wafer; an etching gas supply unit for supplying an etching gas to the shielding in the chamber Between the component and the mask component; a plasma generating unit disposed in the compartment and configured to generate a plasma of the etching gas to the chamber; and a heating unit disposed on a wall of the chamber And a temperature for heating the plasma reaction compartment and one of the wafers or heating the plasma reaction compartment to react with the wafer to activate a plasma. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heating unit is disposed on a given wall or a side of one of the reaction compartments. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a wafer holder heating unit disposed in the wafer holder for heating the wafer holder. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 2 or 3, wherein the heating unit comprises: a heating wire; and a power supply for supplying a power source to the heating wire. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temperature at which the plasma reaction is activated ranges from room temperature to about 350 °C. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the beveled region of the wafer comprises a thin layer comprising a metal layer. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 6, wherein the wafer is heated by the heating unit before the plasma is generated. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 7, wherein the metal layer is one of a copper layer, an aluminum layer, and a tungsten layer. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 8, wherein if the metal layer is the copper layer, the wafer is heated to a temperature ranging from about 250 ° C to about 350 ° C, if the metal layer is the In the aluminum layer, the wafer is heated to a temperature ranging from about 40 ° C to about 80 ° C, and if the metal layer is the tungsten layer, the wafer is heated to from about 30 ° C to about 50 ° C. Temperature range. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a remote plasma generating unit for exciting a post-treatment gas to a plasma state and supplying the plasma state to the chamber after the plasma state is supplied. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 10, wherein the remote plasma generating unit comprises: a post-processing gas tank for storing the post-processing gas; and a plasma generator for exciting the post-processing gas Up to the plasma state; and a power supply for supplying high frequency power to the plasma generator of the remote plasma generating unit. The plasma etching apparatus of claim 11, wherein the remote plasma generating unit further comprises an evaporator for evaporating a liquid to process the material. A method for etching a wafer, the method comprising: placing a central region of a wafer on one of the wafer holders in a chamber to expose a sloped area of the wafer; moving the wafer holder upward Maintaining a desired distance from a mask member, thereby shielding the central region of the wafer with the mask member and the wafer holder and exposing the slope region of the wafer; supplying an etching gas to the chamber The bevel region of the wafer; and etching the bevel region of the wafer by generating plasma in the chamber, wherein the wafer is heated prior to generating the plasma. The method of claim 13, wherein the wafer is heated to a temperature ranging from room temperature to about 350 °C. The method of claim 14, wherein the wafer is heated by performing a process of heating the wafer holder, heating one of the processes of the interior of the chamber, or simultaneously performing the two processes. The method of claim 13, wherein a metal layer and an insulating layer are stacked on the slope area. The method of claim 16, further comprising: removing the metal layer from the bevel region; and removing a portion of the insulating layer from the bevel region by using a plasma, through a partial etching process, to remove the remaining Metal ions or micro in the bevel area grain. The method of claim 17, wherein the insulating layer is removed by using a plasma generated by CF ₄ , SF ₆ , O ₂ , and He gas. The method of claim 17, wherein the metal layer is one of a copper layer, an aluminum layer, and a tungsten layer. The method of claim 19, wherein the copper layer is etched using Cl ₂ and BCl ₃ as a reactive gas and Ar is used as an inert gas, and Cl ₂ , BCl ₃ , and O _{2 are} used as a reaction gas and Ar is used as a reaction gas. An aluminum layer is etched by an inert gas, and the tungsten layer is etched using SF ₆ or NF ₃ as a reactive gas and Ar as an inert gas. The method of claim 13, wherein after etching the predetermined region of the wafer, the method further comprises: removing the process gas from the entire top surface of the wafer after utilizing a plasma state in the chamber Residue; and after removing the residues, a residual gas is discharged. The method of claim 21, wherein the processing of the gas after the plasma state is generated using a remote plasma process. The method of claim 22, wherein the post-treatment gas is prepared by mixing an inert gas with one of H ₂ O, H ₂ O ₂ , NH ₃ or a mixed gas of H ₂ and N ₂ .